RAFAEL NADAL STARTS QUEST FOR TITLE NO. 14 IN THE FRENCH OPEN WITH A NORMAL WIN OVER JORDAN THOMPSON IN FIRST ROUND.
Rafael Nadal was unable to win a single warm-up title on clay ahead of the French Open, but he brushed off any injury concerns when beating Jordan Thompson in the first round on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Nadal is in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Stream the 2022 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+.
Rafael Nadal kick-started his bid for a 14th French Open title with a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 6-2 victory over Australian Jordan Thompson.
The 13-time champion was looking to make an early statement at Roland-Garros after failing to pick up a single warm-up title on clay, with a recurring foot problem hampering his preparations.
No such issues arose on Court Philippe-Chatrier, however, with Nadal needing just two hours and four minutes to wrap up the victory.
Nadal, in the same quarter of the draw as Novak Djokovic and rising star Carlos Alcaraz, will face either wild card Corentin Moutet or 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka in the second round.
With Djokovic in action later, Nadal was third out on the French Open’s main court after women’s world No. 1 Iga Swiatek breezed through and defending champion Barbora Krejcikova crashed out.
Hoping for an afternoon devoid of drama, Nadal quickly took a stranglehold on the match when breaking twice to take a 4-1 lead, and he closed out the opening set moments later.
A stunning Nadal forehand then earned the Spaniard the first point of the second set on Thompson’s serve, and it set the tone as the Australian was broken and looked visibly frustrated.
“I need all the help I can get,” Thompson could be heard saying, before then claiming he was struggling to see the ball.
Thompson was never able to get a foothold in the match, always a tough task when facing a player with just the three career losses at Roland-Garros, and he was left slumped over the net when scuppered by some relentless Nadal defence in a second set that also ended 6-2.
Come the third set, once again Thompson was left bemoaning his luck, but Nadal was utterly dominant as it followed a familiar pattern, with two breaks helping the Spaniard complete the win.
